More Highlights for Jim Valvano

• Dreams of Gold NC Olympic Festival 1987

  After several years of dreaming, North Carolina landed the Olympic Festival for 1987. The opening ceremonies took place on July 17, 1987 in Carter-Finley stadium in Raleigh. Athletic events were held in nearby cities. Greensboro hosted figure and speed skating. Durham was the site for track and field, soccer and wrestling. Chapel Hill hosted basketball, gymnastics, and swimming. Cary was home base for archery. Raleigh was tapped to host diving, boxing, and equestrian. Kerr Lake was the site for yachting.

  WRAL Sports anchors Tom Suiter and Bob Holliday host this special broadcast, Dreams of Gold, leading up to the festival.

  Capitol Broadcasting Company was a Grand Patron sponsor of the Festival.

  Aired: July 11, 1987

• NCSU 1983 Basketball Team Celebration at Reynolds

  The “Cardiac Pack,” or the “Cardiac Kids” or “Desting Darlings” or just plain Wolfpack, the 1983 NCSU basketball team celebrated their victory in Reynolds Coliseum after being crowned NCAA Basketball Champions in a buzzer beater victory over the University of Houston.

  WRAL Sports Anchor Tom Suiter and WRAL News Reporter Ann Devlin host the live coverage of the jubilation in Reynolds Coliseum on the campus of NC State. You’ll see legendary coach Jim Valvano and all the players step up to the microphone and thank their fans.

• 1983 NC State NCAA Basketball Champs talk to Pres Reagan via WRAL

  The North Carolina State University basketball team won the NCAA Championship in 1983. The team advanced through the basketball season in thrilling fashion and won the championship with a buzzer beater! Final score: NCSU 54. University of Houston 52.

  According to NCSU, the White House extended an invitation for the team to visit Washington, and WRAL offered to cover the expenses, but N.C. State didn’t accept the offer because of NCAA rules. WRAL did the next best thing. Since the station is conventiently located across the street (Western Blvd) the team gathered at WRAL in Studio A. WRAL engineering figured a way to uplink a satellite feed from WRAL into the White House and coordinate a downlink from the White House back into WRAL for a two-way audio/video exchange. It took two control rooms to accomplish the live broadcast. This was the first time a satellite feed from a commercial television station had ever been received by the White House.

  The video is an old VHS copy of the WRAL broadcast which explains the low grade video quality. The copy is an edited version as well.

  May 9, 2016 the 1983 NCSU Championship Team finally made it to the White House. President Barak Obama warmly received the team for a recognition long over due. Sadly, Lorenzo Charles who scored the winning goal passed away a few years earlier.

• The Jim Valvano Show blooper

  This short video clip demonstrates that even pros like legendary WRAL sportscaster Nick Pond can get tongue tied.

  The early version of The Jim Valvano Show was taped in Studio A at WRAL-TV. The campus of NCSU is located across the street from WRAL which made it convenient for NCSU coaches and athletes. During this taping, Pond finds himself struggling to say “NAIA” while referring to the division below NCAA. He finally gives up. Valvano takes it in stride with a simple whistle. The director fades to black so they can regroup and record the segment again.

  Circa 1982.

• No Joy in Mudville documentary

  “No Joy in Mudville” provides an in-depth look into sports on various levels of participation from little league games to college to professional. Sports has become an obession with winning as the only acceptable outcome. The documentary also looks at co-ed sports, injuries, pressure on athletes and coaches, and life after sports.
  WRAL-TV participated in the Eighth Decade Consortium comprised of five television stations across the country. The other four stations were WJLA in Washington, D.C., WCVB in Boston, KSTP in Minneapolis, and KOMO in Seattle. Each station produced a segment in the documentary. WRAL produced the first segment, “For Saturday Afternoon Glory” written by WRAL Sports Director Bob Holliday and produced by Chuck Maye.
  The program was hosted by WRAL News anchor John Hudson. The opening voice-over was by Bill Leslie. “No Joy in Mudville” aired September 12, 1983. The subject matter is still relevant to this day.